On Sunday, Sept. 3, at 4:00 p.m., Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, will begin its 168th academic year with a special worship service in The Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on the Seminary campus. Dr. Dale A. Meyer, president of Concordia Seminary, will serve as preacher. Following the service, the dedication of the Seminary’s Center for Hispanic Studies (CHS) will take place, formerly located in Oak Brook, Ill. The public is invited to attend.

The service will include the installation of Dr. Richard Marrs as associate professor of practical theology. New professional staff members to be installed at the service include Rose Gilbert, instructor of programs for Hispanic women in the CHS, who also will be consecrated as a deaconess during the service; Revs. Eloy Gonzáles, associate director of the CHS; and John Loum, director of the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology. In addition, faculty and staff members who are assuming new responsibilities will be recognized.

During the preceding week, new students will complete an orientation process and register for course work. The orientation process also provides opportunities for new students and their families to become better acquainted, which includes a “Field Day” consisting of men’s and women’s sports activities, games for children and a community-wide barbeque.

Approximately 115 new students are expected to enroll at Concordia Seminary this fall. “We join the church in giving thanks for these gifted men who desire to serve as pastors, missionaries and chaplains,” commented Dr. Wallace Becker, director of student services at Concordia Seminary. “They come from all walks of life and backgrounds, but they are united in their desire to serve their Lord in this special way.”

Concordia Seminary is located at 801 Seminary Place in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, call (314) 505-7374.